Hip-hop has always been a diverse musical representation of someone’s thoughts, emotions and life. Rappers use their music as an outlet to portray what their lives are like and what they think to paint a picture for the listener. The result was often quality music that was enjoyable to most people. Unfortunately, lately, there seems to be a noticeable difference in the way some artists rap.

Although women, drugs and money have always been popular hip-hop topics, it has become the main focus for rappers who use the trap style and even for some who don’t. As rappers say their lyrics on the beat, it’s all starting to sound the same, causing much of the music to be repetitive and dull. In short, they are all saying the same thing with the same “flow” or style of rap. These repetitive raps seem to be centered on people who utilize the trap style of rap.

For example, a song called “Rolly Up” by Gucci Mane says, “Since my money fat I’m throwing stacks.” Chief Keef’s “Laughing at the Bank” says, “Cause I got lots of guap, I make money fly, fly, fly.” Quite original, right? This is one of a countless number of rappers who simply say the same thing over a different beat and sell it as “music.”

I frequently hear about these artists and their music being called “real,” which brings me to my main point. How can an artist’s music be “real” when all they are talking about is having drugs, money, and women? If one’s music is so limited to basic rhymes, how can they be considered a real and creative artist? The answer is, they can’t. Of course, people are entitled to their own musical opinion, but if we’re talking straight lyricism, many of these type of rappers are, quite simply, garbage.

In my eyes, the real rappers are the ones whose music has two important components: lyricism and a message. By lyricism, I mean that they use words that you don’t know, include wordplay that takes a rewind to understand, and write lines that have a deep meaning. My favorite example of this type of artist is J. Cole. He can write a story into a rap that connects with people and teaches them a good lesson. That is not a common skill in hip-hop today. A great example of this is J. Cole’s “Love Yours,” which says, “Ain’t no such thing as a life that’s better than yours… Love yours.” He is trying to tell everyone that you won’t be happy until you love your own life. If that isn’t real, I don’t know what is.

J. Cole and others who truly try to be unique and are successful at it should be considered “real,” and while many people recognize that, when you call artists like Chief Keef “real” you’re comparing him to great rappers like J. Cole, which is laughable. I’m not saying no one should listen to trap; all I’m saying is there should be a line that separates true artists from artists who aren’t creative at all.